Of Shadows & Light

Ⅱ. Meredith 🗡

We split up at one point. My group and I.

They all went to different parts of the kingdom but I chose to stay on the island in our hideout. Someone had to stay when half the time these shadow monsters come around here.

I found some already in here, and I refuse to see what's in that maze in the center of this place.

By the time I was headed out of the giant hideout, I heard unrecognizable voices. But they were on the other side of the place. So that was in the back of my mind. Until their talking turned into shouting.

"Pull your sword Gawain!" a frantic feminine voice shouted.

Stars.

I ran to the shouting and saw a shadow monster and stars. Was this one huger than any other I've seen? I grabbed a Light Pouch from my satchel and threw it, the monster screaming into the light and dying. My breathing was heavy, these boots and corset were not made for running. Luckily my mask blocked out most of my noise, and I thought I was fine until I made eye contact with...was that the prince?

My eyes widened and so did his. My stance was in a flee mode and I sprinted to the nearest side of the maze.

"Hey!" he shouted, his footsteps closing in on mine. But I got into the maze quickly and heard him groan, I made it out. I thought.

Or at least I thought I did.

🗡🗡🗡

Roderick

🗡

Whoever that was is fast, but not as fast as my thoughts. I knew where the end of the maze was, I saw it when we entered. So I ran there and by the time I got there she was exiting and I pinned her to the wall with my dagger to her throat.

A gasp escaped from her and my eyes met with hers. "You really thought you'd get away that easily?"

All I got was a grunt and her pushing on my chest to get me off her. But it didn't work as I was steady against her and she was frantic.

"How did you do that?" I asked, my tone was very harsh but then again I just ran to catch her whilst having a sword attached to me.

She didn't respond. All she did was look at me with her forest green eyes. They stood out against her black hair and pale skin.

"Look, I can give you two options." I stated. "You can either cooperate and can walk with us...or you can be difficult and quiet and I can tie you up and throw you over my shoulder." I paused. "The decision is yours."

She was silent. But there was fear in her eyes. She could clearly not leave this place but she was alone.

"You don't understand." she quietly said.

"Understand what?"

"I can't go where you're going."

"Roderick!" a voice shouted before I could speak again.

I looked back at her. "Make your choice or I can make it for you." I could tell she would've shook her head, but my dagger was so close to her throat that one shake could've cut her throat.

🗡🗡🗡

Meredith

🗡

I couldn't make my decision because it was neither. But when someone shouted his name, he made the decision for me. When he took the dagger away from my throat he managed to still keep me pinned because his knees were harshly digging into my thighs.

I groaned as the pain sank in and he grabbed my wrists, tying them with a rope. I thought he'd just do the wrists but when he bent down and began to tie my ankles I began to struggle against him and fell over his shoulder. I let out a gasp, but didn't mean to.

"Thanks for making my job easier." he mocked.

I groaned and tried kicking his shoulder, but I could barely move my legs.

"I gave you a choice." he said, and before I knew it he walked out of the maze. "Got her."

"Put me down." I pounded my fists on his back.

"You didn't answer so I chose for you." he shrugged. "We can head back to the ship now, we got what we needed and like I predicted, they didn't cooperate."

"Well, at least it was an easy run." another feminine voice said.

"Yeah, it means another twelve hour boat ride." a deep masculine voice complained.

"Well lucky for you Gawain you'll be sleeping the whole time." another masculine voice said, but his was softer. "All of you have thick cloth right?"

"Yes. All because of your obsession with these ziplines." a softer feminine voice sighed.

"Well good, because that's what you're using to get down." he said, then I heard a zipping sound. I'm guessing he went down the zipline or whatever they set up. By the time Roderick got to it I became stiff.

I was terrified of heights and he was about to just zip down a giant hill like it was nothing. When he took me off his shoulder I tried to book it, forgetting my ankles were tied so I fell quickly and he caught me.

"I don't know where you were going with that, but it was clearly nowhere." he laughed at his own stupid joke.

"Let me go."

"I don't think I can do that."

"Yes you can, you're choosing not to."

"And you're choosing to not be peaceful with us." he said as he put my tied wrists over his head to where I was hanging on around him. I got closer to him when he grabbed the cloth and moved towards the rope. I could see the ground below us and it wasn't close.

I looked away and shoved my face into his shoulder.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

He could clearly hear my heavy breathing and feel my racing heart.

"No." I lied.

I closed my eyes when I felt him hang onto the rope and began sliding down. I couldn't see us going down, but I could feel it.

The air rushing past us and the sound of leaves rustling as he hit them. He hit the ground when a thump and I put my shaky legs on the ground.

Just when I thought I could walk to the ship, or run away thinking he'd untie my ankles, he threw me over his shoulder AGAIN!

I squirmed and struggled against him, hoping he'd let me off but he didn't give. Next I knew, I was on his ship.